1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to connectors that are used to establish mating connection between separate hubs, and, more particularly, to a connector with actuatable reaction members to resist bending loads.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many industries a sealing connection must be established between two hubs. Broadly speaking, in much application this may be accomplished by use of a connector that contains a locking means for clamping the two hubs together so as to establish the seal between the two hubs. The structures and configurations of the hubs and the connector, as well as the mechanisms used to establish the sealing connection between such hubs is vast and varied. As one example, in the oil and gas industry, subsea wells normally have a large tubular wellhead positioned at the sea floor. A riser that extends from the wellhead to the surface, e.g., to a drill ship or a platform, is used during at least drilling operations. The riser contains a wellhead connector (a first hub) that is adapted to be coupled to the wellhead (a second hub) by the use of a hydraulically actuated connector. Typically, the sealing connection between the two hubs is established by actuating one or more hydraulic cylinders to force “dogs” into engagement with a profile (e.g., grooves) formed in the outer surface of the wellhead. Another example from the oil and gas industry is subsea flow lines wherein connections must be made between two tubular shaped flow lines that carry hydrocarbon fluids and gases. Of course, there are many industrial applications where such connections must be established that are not in a subsea environment, e.g., refineries and petrochemical plants, on-shore drilling operations, etc.
FIG. 1A is a simplistic and schematic representation of a connection made between two hubs so as to describe one problem encountered when using present day connectors. In general, the system 10 includes first and second hubs 12A/12B wherein a connector 16 is used to establish a seal 14 between the two hubs 12A/12B. The connector 16 is adapted to supply at preload or mating force 18 so as to urge the hubs 12A/12B into sealing engagement with one another. In one embodiment, a seal (not shown), such as a metal seal, is positioned between the two hubs to effectuate such sealing by causing slight deflection of the seal when the mating force 18 is applied. Of course, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, there are many forms of hubs, seals and connectors employed within many industries. Moreover, the vertical orientation of the hubs 12A/12B is by way of example only, as they may be oriented in any direction.
With reference to FIG. 1B, during operation, a bending force or load 20 may be applied to one of the hubs 12A/12B. In the depicted example, the bending force 20 is applied to the top hub 12B. As a result of the bending force 20, the upper hub 12B wants to rotate about the pivot point 21 thereby trying to induce separation (indicated by the double arrows 24) between the two hubs. More specifically, the bending force 20 causes the right side of the connection to experience a compressive force 22C, while the left side of the connection experiences a tensile force 22T.
In an effort to account for these bending loads 20, the connector 16 and/or portions of the hubs 12A/12B are made exceptionally large and robust so that these bending loads may be resisted and the sealed connection 14 is not lost. The connector body must be made sufficiently large and stiff enough so as to withstand all of the loads that it may be reasonably expected to experience during operation, as schematically depicted by the dashed line 26, including the bending force 20. However, using this approach in an effort to account for the bending loads is expensive in that the equipment itself is more expensive and means of handling and positioning such large connectors and hubs in their operating arrangement is more difficult and costly, especially in subsea applications.
The present disclosure is directed to various embodiment of a connector with actuatable reaction members that may avoid, or at least reduce, the effects of one or more of the problems identified above.